#NOT TO GET SAPPY but i don’t think ya’ll understand just how much it means to me that people genuinely like my writing.

[emmaspolaroid]

all eyes on you almost 400 kudos ?????

[fallout-drabbles-n-stuff]

Lately, everything has been terrible and stressful can I please get some fluff between sole and a married romanced companion doing married couple stuff?

(Heyy, I recognize you from my Skyrim blog! Hope everything starts getting better, whatever is going on)

(This is one of those things where if ya'll want a little drabble with a specific character..just ask! This may be more of a romantic fluff thing because i don't really know how to specifically make it about them being married //although I am thinking of writing wedding Headcanons// but you get the gist.))

Cait:

•She never thought she would ever find herself here. Surely, she thought, she would've been beaten to death or overdosed before love ever would've been in the cards. So, it would be a vast understatement to say she's sometimes at a loss for words when she looks at you. Her wife/husband..damn that felt good.

•Often times you are privileged to the more tender side of Cait, the side of her that allows her to be completely at ease. During these times, she'll allow you to kiss some of her scars- her face flushing a furious red similar to one of her hair. She usually isn't the sappy type, but if you tell her that you love them as much as you love her..cue the waterworks.

•It's maybe not the romantic gesture, but she finds herself consistently sharpening your knives when you aren't around- placing them back in your knapsack before you get home. Partially accredited to her want for your safety and otherwise well being.

•If you have long enough hair, she sometimes will braid it in one of those fancy four strand braids..you know..to keep it out of your face for combat.

•Bunch of nights spent on the roof of red rocket sipping crappy warm beer but neither of you caring, much too invested in each other's presence to be picky.

Curie:

•She keeps a very strict journaling of her research records...she also keeps one detailing every little aspect of you that she loves. She isn't exactly sure why she started doing this, but..it quickly becomes a post-war like scrapbook of the two of you. The biggest picture with tons of little hearts around it is the one of the two of you on your wedding day.

•You can sometimes find her uncontrollably grinning whenever she takes off her lab gloves and sees her wedding ring. She doesn't dare ever take it off.

•The second you get sick she is there by your side, the whole "in sickness" part of her vows surely weren't just for tradition.

Danse:

•Just as you wear his, Danse never parts with your dog tags. Between them and his ring, they may as well be a part of him. Danse also has your initials engraved on the gauntlets of his power armour.

•Danse is surprisingly physically affectionate. As such, there are many instances where your ever so serious husband will stop you, running his thumb over your cheek before randomly giving you a chaste kiss. Afterwards he almost always follows the action up with something along the lines of "I'll never understand how I've became lucky enough to be able to call you mine."

•Enjoys you keeping him company when he works on power armour or weapons. Even if you have no skill in blacksmithing, he will insist that you join him. Just imagine it- a warm wasteland afternoon, Dogmeat laying out in the sun, some tune playing over the radio while a sweaty, tank top wearing Danse getting you to mod weapons with him.

Deacon:

•Deacon easily becomes very protective over you, who can blame him? His luck with marriage hasn't been the best...but then again..neither has your's. The more serious side of your relationship will always be the lingering fear of losing each other..it's good enough to make you hold each other closer at night.

•Late night snack breaks while the radio plays and the two of you dance around together is a must have for each night.

•You two are now formally known as the only married couple of the Railroad. Congrats.

Gage:

•Totally has gotten a tattoo of your name. Let's face it, you probably have one of his as well.

•Loves spoiling you as much as he possibly can without crossing the line as your "right-hand" man. Gangs can't know too much. Well, they already know you're married..but you know..

•Doesn't drink very often, matter of fact he used to despise it. However, he soon sees the merriment in it via drunken antics with just you in your own privacy. Oh, expanding upon this..it's sort of a morning ritual for the two of you to watch the sunrise and drink some nuka-quantum to get the day going.

Hancock:

•The people of Goodneighbor view the two of you like some cool political power couple. It's neat. With that reputation also comes your husband seeking your counsel in political matters, let's just face it, he sometimes needs some guidance on how to be more strict without breaking his "code".

•Serves as a wonderful listener. I know, bare minimum- but seriously, he is incredibly wise when it comes to everyday strife. Plus, there isn't anyone else he'd rather listen to than his sweet sunshine.

•Often presents you with lavish gifts that you probably don't want to know where he got the funds for. Doesn't matter.

Macready:

•He probably will have warned you a thousand times over before marriage but by marrying you, Duncan has to come into the big picture. So, marrying Mac means adopting yourself another little one and becoming your own perfect family.

•As such, a lot of the fluffier times have to do with all of you bonding. Be it making some strange wasteland alternative to pancakes in the morning or going out together to go shoot cans off the fence- life is pretty good.

•Mac becomes at ease whenever he feels completely secure. This will bleed over into every aspect of him, meaning you'll often times find him being less awkward with flirting with you and he also isn't as guarded.

Maxson:

•Although the two of you both uphold your duties to a tee, you always make sure to have time dedicated to the two of you. Regarding this, Arthur is completely in awe during the first few months of your marriage. He knew he wanted you, he just didn't ever imagine it would happen like this, plus being such a young newlywed surely puts an extra pep in his step.

•On some of the off days where he can just have you all to himself: he likes to play chess, take walks, and simply cuddle the hours away.

•I also believe it's worth mentioning that Arthur occasionally leaves you heartfelt love letters around where you'll get them. So even in the days he can't spend devoted to you, at least you'll have that.

Nick:

•Slow dancing? Oh hell yes. Slow dances in the agency to songs like "Easy Living" are a common occurrence for the two of you.

•You'll never doubt how much he loves you, I can guarantee that much. Nick is nothing if not a romantic.

Piper:

•Date nights spent enjoying some power noodles as she screws with the robot vendor.

•Also a repeat offender of leaving love notes for you to find. Only she gets embarrassed if you bring them up. She's happy you like them, but..don't say anything.

•Nat is also a part of the family. Just so you know!

Preston:

•Regularly finds himself admiring you, not in the strictly surface way either. He just can't get over how wonderful you've made his life from the moment you entered it.

•Garvey loves taking you for some safe wasteland foraging, maybe not the most splendid married couple outing but, eh, it works!

X6-88:

•If given the opportunity, he'll sometimes play some songs for you if you happen to find a piano that still functions.

•The whole "married" thing sometimes confuses him. He loves you, but is he supposed to treat you any differently? Probably not- but he still wonders every once in a while

[crystalrequiem]

The Voice that Urged Orpheus

[Part 4/8(?)] [TRC] Summary: Fai gets lost in thought and Kurogane asks him to share. Mistake. He has no idea what to do with all these feelings. Tags: Kuro/Fai, Canon Universe, Post-Canon, Warnings:  suggestive thoughts (nothing graphic), depression, dealing with trauma, so much fluff, Is it still slow-burn if they’re already in a relationship? because that’s basically what this is.

[Part 1] ... [Part 3]... [Part 5]

Hello again! Warning this chapter for Fai’s head messing with him, I guess.  To think, I thought I’d somehow get through this world in just two chapters.... >_> i figure if we’re lucky we’ve got 1-2 more in Chizeta.  I LIVE for your comments and tags, ya’ll. Thanks so much for all the love!

Caldina had advised they might find lodging with the Academy if Fai didn’t mind hosting a few lectures. He couldn’t tell how Fai felt about the suggestion, but with currency uncertain and little else to go on, it certainly sounded like a good deal. Of course, Kurogane figured they might have trouble given no one in their group could read anything in the local language, and he had no idea what bargaining for living space might entail…. He needn’t have bothered.

The Academy nearly bends over backwards to host their group. The instant someone spots them meandering into the library, they start begging Fai to demonstrate his enchantment on the cloak and everything snowballs from there. Before he knows what’s what, Fai has some sort of visiting scholar position and they’ve been put up in academic housing. The administration kindly arranges for them to take two bedrooms and a central living area—a complete if compact apartment. Honestly, much, much nicer than Kurogane could have hoped when they landed in the desert this morning.

Thick earthen walls cut the heat and will likely insulate against the chill of night. Intricately detailed window screens invite a lattice of rosy light into the room while the sun finishes setting. Soft, pillowy seating spaces and ceilings peppered with tiny glowing baubles he assumes must be magic. No food or place for groceries, but the school keeps a communal eating area and they’ve already discovered that no one has any compunctions about sharing.

Their rag-tag traveling family trails in to their borrowed room, tired by a long day spent touring the grounds and staring at all manner of spell work. Kurogane locks the sturdy, elaborately carved door behind himself as he steps through, feeling surreal and off-balance.

“—and did you see what they were doing with the gravity manipulation? I didn’t completely understand how it works, but it looked like they were making something like the flying carts from piffle!” He has no idea what to do with all this magic, or why he should care, but Syaoran takes to the academy like a duck to water. For as many differences between them, the kid and his double both share the same love of learning… He chatters to everyone who will listen at a mile a minute. They’ve barely scratched the surface of the library and labs today, but ideas seem to fill his every thought.

Something twists painfully in in Kurogane’s chest to watch him so excited—this sort of place is where someone like Syaoran belongs, if he wants. Not an endless, thankless journey through dimensions. The fact that they can come here probably means a lot to the kid, but he wishes they could do more. He wishes the first Syaoran could have made it here to see it. He just—

Needs to stop thinking about it like this. They’re doing what they can. Maybe if they make enough memories here, Mokona can find a way to return someday.

Eventually, Syaoran has to pause his latest stream of thought to yawn, and Fai steps in and suggests they all get some early rest.

“We have even more to do tomorrow, and you have plenty of lectures to look forward to.” The Kid and pork-bun bend to the logic of Fai’s argument with no complaints, already bleary-eyed as they wander away to investigate their own room with a quiet chorus of “good night.” Kurogane watches after them and distantly wonders whether he should have checked the place for traps before letting anyone get comfortable. He’s going too soft.

“Sheesh.” Fai flops bonelessly onto what he can only assume is some sort of lounge, his cloak fluttering as he drops.

“You’re not overdoing it, showing off all those spells, are you?” He tries to cast his worry in the form of a jab, but has a feeling Fai sees right through him when the mage just laughs. Blond hair twines over pale skin as Fai pushes a few whisping strands away from his only slightly burnt face and starts undoing the ribbon there.

“Not hardly. But the heat is a cruel and the days are long.” Something old and sad echoes in the way he looks away, the distant gaze and the slow fall of his arm, ribbon held tight. It’s lingered like a cloud around him since they arrived, ebbing and flowing amidst the excitement of the Academy.

Kurogane pulls his own, still-cool cloak off and tosses it right over his idiot’s head. “Hey!”

“I can hear you thinking too hard from here,” he grouches, sidling across the room to fit himself into the space at the end of the lounge. Fai struggles feebly to free himself from the fabric for all of a second or two before giving up. He stills and curls inward, adopting the cloak as another masking layer.

“Can’t hide anything from you, can I?” Muffled by fabric, his voice sounds more fragile than it should. …Maybe he’s pushing where he shouldn’t.

“Of course not. Aren’t you supposed to be the smart one? You’d think you’d learn better by now.” He tries to lead them back into the game and safer waters, but his lover doesn’t seem interested in following. Kurogane waits a beat for another silly quip, but Fai only grants him a muffled hum of agreement.

His brow furrows, worry multiplying. The longer the silence stretches, the less certain he feels. He tries to be patient, but the light streaming in from the screen begins shifting from sunset red to pale moon white all too quickly. The sounds of the world outside take on a hushed tone. Eventually he can’t take the quiet any more. Kurogane tuts with frustration. Reaching out for the lump of Fai buried in fabric, he pulls his cloak back and tosses it on the floor. The move leaves Fai’s hair a mess of static and fine strands.

“…I was using that,” the mage mumbles, gaze pinned to the ground. Kurogane doesn’t understand how one person can be so frustrating and so easy to love at the same damn time. He leans a little closer—lets his hand rest on Fai’s shoulder blade, tentative.

“Mage…”

“Oh, Alright Kuro-nosy!” The magician laughs even as he extols his annoyance. Beneath Kurogane’s fingers, tension slowly bleeds away until he leans into the touch. “But I warn you, it’s stupid. It hardly even matters. Just—nostalgia? Or—that’s the wrong word.”

It always matters, if it’s you, Kurogane thinks, but can’t bring himself to say. His inner monologue manages to distill that sappy mess down to a simpler, “If it bothers you, it matters,” and the phrase leaves him easily before he can dwell too long. Fai smiles—that old, bittersweet grin. Another fracture ripples through the surface of his heart at the sight.

“It’s so strange, being here, you know? I’ve studied magic before obviously, but—I’ve never seen anywhere like this.

“Free food and community and using magic to help each other—it’s… I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop—for something horrible about this world to come to light just to make it make sense.” Well, he can relate to that. He doesn’t see how it has anything to do with nostalgia though—

“Things have been too easy here,” he agrees. He takes a second look at the delicate window screens, noting how easily they might be kicked in. Do the kids have one in their room? Should they all bunk in the living area to stay in one place? He figured he was just paranoid, but if Fai feels it too— “Should we set up a watch, do you think?”

The mage blinks at him from his side in open confusion before his words fully register. Fai laughs, quiet and fond and at what, Kurogane has no idea but he welcomes the sound.

“Sorry! That’s not what I meant. I’m not explaining it right. This world seems fine, honestly. That’s part of what bothers me.”

“I don’t think I get it.” He frowns, trying to tune his alert instincts back down. Fussing with Fai’s mussed hair helps. He combs through it with his fingers and Fai seems content enough to let him, leaning towards his hand with every pass. Their positions shift until they sit pressed close at the thigh, side by side. Fai’s eyes slip closed and Kurogane watches the tiny shifts in his expression as he decides to try explaining again.

“There was a royal college of magic in Valeria. I can’t remember the specifics or how it worked but I do remember… we used to pretend we would go there and learn one day when we grew up.”

Oh. Nostalgia, he’d said, and Kurogane hadn’t managed to piece it together. He sees it now—the barest corner of what pains Fai, and protective worry stirs in him like a beast pacing at the bars. “Obviously, it never would have happened, but it gave us something to hope for—made us excited about something. We stole books from the library and taught each other whatever we could… Stupid, in the end. It only made things worse for us when the sovereign found out.”

“Fai…”

“Then in Celes, there was a Wizard’s guild, but I learned mostly from Ashura-ou and his library. And that was… good. I thought. But it wasn’t really, was it? I was just fooling myself. What happened… happened. Any memories I made were poisoned by the idea that he only ever meant to use me as a method of suicide, and I just keep thinking—I don’t know.

“This place is too perfect—it’s too… kind.”

Kurogane’s combing stills as he listens. He cradles the back of Fai’s neck instead, palm of his hand pressed to nape, as he tries to put his thoughts back to rights. He’s never been described as overly-empathetic, but the shadow of Fai’s hurt echoes in him all the same, sitting like a stone at the pit of his stomach. He wants more than anything to help ease its burden. He wishes he had some idea of how.

“Sorry. I told you it was stupid.”

“It isn’t,” he insists, but Fai’s self-derision is a stubborn foe. He huffs with frustration—he just wants Fai to know, somehow that this matters… that he matters. “The Manjuu might need one more day to recharge, but we can dodge at the first possibility. If this place bothers you, we can find something else.”

“No, It’s fine. Syaoran loves it here, and I’ll get over it, I’m just…. Memories are…” He casts a hand through the air, fluttering, as if that will describe it. It does, sort of, make a little sense. Kurogane sighs and leans forward far enough to press his brow to Fai’s.

To think. Not so long ago that Fai would never have been able to explain such a thing—wouldn’t have felt comfortable saying a word of it. They’ve built something better—stronger for all they’ve been through together and Kurogane longs to express that. Just—soon. Maybe not now. Not when he knows there’s already a lot going on in the mage’s head.

Fai leans in those last few inches and plies a soft kiss at the corner of Kurogane’s mouth before retreating. He wants to chase the sensation, but the look on Fai’s face stops him. “You, this place… I keep waiting for someone to tell me it’s all been a dream. It’s hard to believe something this nice exists—that I can have it without ruining it.” He can’t tell whether Fai means the world of the Academy, or what they have together. He doesn’t think Fai knows either.

“Hey—” he starts, utterly unsure of how to continue. Fai meets him with shaky breath and a wry smile.

“People like me don’t deserve nice things, Kuro-sama.” The mage says with utter certainty, no trace of doubt in his mind, and it kills Kurogane to hear.  

He wants to be angry—to shout Fai’s ridiculous ideas of his own worth away, but he’s tried that. It won’t do anything in the end. He holds tighter instead, slides his hand just a little higher to cradle Fai’s thick skull. He wants to fix it—prove him wrong—give him worlds and worlds full of beauty just to show him.

You’re wrong, he wants to say, but he knows his idiot won’t listen. “I don’t care what you deserve,” he says instead. They’re close enough that he can feel Fai’s breath when the mage laughs this time, sad and tired.

“I know.”

Somehow those exhausted words in the dark feel like the start of a victory.

[black-strike-otp]

LT : Chapter 2

Ya’ll: ??? But???

Me: hush child, you shall See.

For all the terrible sappy fairytales the Cybertronian media had produced before the war, you’d think they’d use a realistic approach to how feelings worked. For instance: love didn’t come easy. It wasn’t dropped in your lap like a present. It wasn’t a single kiss that left the world in a slow-mo reel that made you feel whole. Sometimes you felt lost in your emotions; too lost to feel anything good about the individual you thought you loved.

Love was loyalty. It was commitment. It was dependability; respect, and the ability to forgive. It was going through the bad times together. It was looking for the light and beauty in each other, even when they felt like a foreigner at times.

She had witnessed love. She’d thought to have found love in all the wrong places. She’d lost love, identified infatuations for love, and made others love her. It wasn’t all too surprising that her name was associated beauty and romance. She had enough to snare even the most cold and unruly of their kind with enough time and cunning.

But this love… this kind of love felt like it was real. Alarmingly beautiful. A turbulent mess of highs and lows. Dangerous yet secure.

She wondered what her carrier would think of this mech as she watched him. A stubborn, witty, flirtacious mech like him whom had a thousand different stories that you couldn’t tell which were true and which were lies. But she knew.

A smile pulled at the corners of her mouth. She knew the softness beneath the hot-head, the playful gestures under the sarcasm. The honest answers to the questions of where the scars on his blackened charcoal armor came from and the throbbing hum of his spark. He was certainly a mech of many tricks and legends, but he was more than what others played him to be.

Even as he looked to her now with uncertainty in his violet regard, there was turmoil. The definitions of his shoulders were a stiff hard line and his face a stoic composure. She felt a throbbing pity in her spark seeing him so unsure of himself. The medic, it seemed, didn’t even notice the cues of his unease as he looked over his notes and continued studying his tests.

Tubes and wires plastered on various areas of armor and beneath plating drooped to the floor and connected to various machines. The readings were almost incomprehensible. Thank the Primes for doctors and their ludicrous pedigrees and paperwork. Field medical work was messy and on-the-spot fixes, but Venus’ patchwork had nothing compared to these bots.

For the first in a surprising joor of silence, the anxious mech spoke up: “So, doc, are you going to fill me in on anything or am I supposed to sit here all day?”

“These kind of things take time,” the medic breezily responded without so much as a glance up from his datapad. “Let the machines do their work.”

Clearing her vocalizer, Venus spoke up in a soft-spoken and utterly too sweet voice, “May I go over beside Barricade for moral support…?”

The medical officer looked up. He wasn’t the usual physician they went to see in the ward, but he had been the only one available at the time. Sadly, unlike the mech ‘Cade usually saw, this one wasn’t so flexible in his ideals and not so easily charmed by a pretty faceplate and gentle smile.

“You’re lucky to be in the room,” the mech snapped irritably. “Under normal circumstances, no relatives or friends of a mech in his condition would be allowed anywhere near here.”

An instant sourness crossed Venus’ expression. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

The medic looked over to her with a half-bowed head. His optics were a look of knowing. His face said he didn’t care.

Raising his servo, Barricade spoke in a soothing tone in her direction, “Babe, he’s just looking out for everyone’s safety. I just wanna get this over with as quickly as possible.”

“You’re only agreeing with him because you think the same way.”

“Venus, sweetspark...”

She crossed her arms in front of her chassis, waiting for him to finish. To Barricade’s credit, he chose not to. Instead, his shoulders sagged and he merely pouted in her direction for a nanoklik. His helm slowly dropped, though his gaze would still glimpse to her hopefully.

He wanted her to fear him. Venus couldn’t understand it; not fully anyway. They’d come so far; as trainees in the academy, as friends, as enemies, and as lovers. He never made it easy for her just as she’d never made it easy for him. She wasn’t an easy femme to win over with flaunting good showy looks and a charming smile. She wasn’t swayed by pretty words. She’d learned her lesson time and time again.

Caring for Barricade had been one of the hardest learning curves she’d allowed herself to go through. All the arguing, the backstabbing that had tore them apart as friends. Reconnecting in the most unexpected ways and the gentleness; the thoughtful nature, the fury and wrath he presented to anyone who tried playing her like a tool again.

He cared when so few had even tried.

Slag, Venus had even learned to love the darkness that plagued him. The reality that physically made him lose himself. The reason they were even here, in this stupid office, hoping for good news.

Her fist tightened on her lap. Digits trembled with anger and sorrow.

“Have you been getting enough fuel and energon?”

“Y-Yes, more than the rationed supplies as put in my usual medical treatment giver. As per diagnosed.”

“Any signs of intense hunger, thirst, violent thoughts or feelings towards others?”

“No.”

“Any signs of...”

Venus had to resist the urge to stand up and slap the mech as he hesitated. He made a gesture with his servos against his face like he was growing fangs or something as he opened his mouth.

She’d sock the stupid, thoughtless aft in that ugly maw if he didn’t quit soon.

“No, sir,” vented ‘Cade in a weary tone.

“Hmm. Right. Any other history I should know about? Family, past, work, sexual partners...”

“Oh for frag’s sake,” Venus growled furiously, throwing her arms up.

The doctor shot her an annoyed look, which she returned in kind.

“No, doc. Unless not everything’s in my file with the uh, therapy session...”

“Huh,” the medic mused.

Venus had to grate her derma to keep from barking obscenities at the mech. He seemed so completely oblivious to how his attitude and questions came across to his patients. The insensitivity, the mechanical droid-like actions he took and said without thinking. It was infuriating! He treated Barricade more like a broken chair than a living bot!

“I’ll speak to your usual over the results later, but from all indications here, I’ll put in a word of agreement. It seems that, in theory, your condition is in dormancy.”

“How can that be possible?” Barricade muttered, clearly perplexed.

Ignoring the nasty glance the doctor gave her, Venus pushed herself out of the seat she’d taken residence and stepped over. Her servos reached out confidently, gently cupping his faceplate.

“Because you are a strong, kickaft mech who refused to give up.”

The former Decepticon officer gave a hint of a smile. It warmed her spark, but not as much as the slit shift of his face as he kissed her palm. Such a simple gesture, such a way it made her spark flutter.

“I only fought as hard as my biggest supporter fought for me,” he tenderly responded.

Unacknowledged, the medic stared at the two with a look of disgust. He gruffly made a noise in his vocalizer box as he shifted in place, looking down at his notes.

“Yes well, we can’t be sure if you’ll have any relapses. That said: it appears that whatever happened the day we had dark-energon infused zombies rising from the dead, it seems to have just… gone,” the mech looked up as he continued, “Whatever Shockwave did to infect you, it’s still present in your spark. You’re still most likely contagious, but the disease that inflicted you is just… unresponsive to tests.”

Frowning deeply, Venus placed a servo against her hip and dropped the other to her side. Her mouth was drawn in a firm line as she eyed the medic behind half-closed fuchsia optics.

“You could just say it: you don’t have any fragging clue what’s going on, but you don’t think he’s going to try draining you of fluids so you’re not leaking yourself-”

“Venus!” Barricade hissed.

“-like the piss sparkling you are.”

A vain little grin appeared on the mech’s face as he looked to her. His optic twitched slightly. Venus could only smile smugly in response to the clear irritation the mech was going through. How unfortunate and tragic for him.

Tight-lipped, the doctor finally responded: “In so many polite words, miss, you’re technically correct. We simply don’t have the answers. There’s never been a studied nor reported case like Barricade’s.”

“A half-living half-undead Cybertronian, unable to functionally predict his outbursts of hunger and contain himself, is simply untested and undocumented,” he went on. “He has a walking pathogen in him. We don’t know what it could do, when it will activate. However, from our studies, even when he goes hungry Barricade no longer seems to undergo the transformation to… well, you’ve seen it.”

Impatiently, the ebony-pink femme tapped her pede against the floor.

“Therefore,” the medic testily continued, “We have no conclusive evidence as to why he’s behaving more rationally. We can only continue to prescribe consistency, and keep our optics on him.”

Exhaling slowly to calm herself, Venus leaned in towards the medic. He looked behind himself as he leaned away, giving her a look of doubt and alarm.

Venus took a great deal of pleasure out of his lapse of anxiety. It was even funnier, considering the mech was at least a good two or three feet taller than her.

“Thanks for your insight, doc,” she breathed venomously. “Now if we’re done here, maybe you can take all this crap off my spark’s desire and keep your judgment to yourself, hmm? I thought medic’s were supposed to be unbiased.”

As she spoke, the femme offered her most tantalizing smile. A glimpse of derma and a raised optic ridge to go with it. She slid her arm across the distance to casually, almost seductively caress the side of the medic’s arm.

“I wonder how good a medic is without their servos...”

“F-Femme,” the medic stuttered, taking a step back. “I’m w-warning you-”

“Venus,” Barricade pleaded gently, reaching out for her arm.

Satisfied as it was with the mech’s response, she took a step back from the cowardly physician. Venus’ servo instantly reached out to find ‘Cade’s, offering a reassuring squeeze as palm met palm and digits loosely intertwined.

The medic glowered at her for a brief moment as he straightened himself. With a look of superiority in his gaze, he stepped around the operating table to Barricade’s backside to begin removing monitor cables.

The femme tore her optics off the snotty medic to her beloved to see the accusing look he was aiming towards her. Slightly hurt, Venus pouted just a smidgen and watched the upturn ‘Cade resisted in the corners of her mouth.

Peeling off the last of the cables as he walked around, the medic gave a flick of his wrist towards the door. “You’re free to go, we’ll be seeing you in another mega-cycle.”

“Hopefully not you,” Venus muttered.

“Sure,” Barricade vaguely answered, dropping onto his pedes. His digits squeezed against Venus’ softly as he turned for the door.

Venus allowed herself to be escorted out of the medic’s ward by her mate. Her optics sweeping from side to side; a survival instinct not quite grown out of. Nor was her constant surprise at just how many bots had come to this little refuge. It had already been a surprising size of neutrals when they’d first come here, and ever since the transmission tower had been built, it was a bustling and flourishing underground labyrinth of a city.

They’d decided to keep the majority of their factionless organization where it was safest; in the crust of Cybertron. Although they had to compete and beat back some of the beast’s that had thrived longer in the planet, it was a better bet than the surface in some qualities.

No other groups could determine the size of their utopia from above solely. Groups of warriors were often patrolling the area and the skies to keep the tower secure from any bandits or air strikes. There was still a regular threat from any bots, neutral or otherwise, trying to take advantage of the resources that the countless joining groups and companies brought into their ‘city’.

The place was busy no matter what direction she looked. It was almost like being back in the heat of the war again yet it wasn’t. Bots tended to be friendlier, usually. Maybe not the war then; maybe more like the academy she’d gotten training in before the Bot/Con war.

As they came to a halt outside the entrance to the underground city, Barricade reached around her. His servo skirted against her hips and down her lower back to rest against her lovehandles. As she looked to his face, she caught him staring at her with a stupid fondness on his face.

She felt a warm radiation of heat move from her neck into her face. The hue of pink in her optics brightened as her pulse quickened.

“You lost your cool a bit back there, huh hot-head?” he teased gently.

“Oh- well-” she fumbled, now feeling irritation latch onto her thoughts. “Look maybe if he acted like an actual medic and less like some stupid wimpy slagger, too scared to evaluate you-”

“I know, babe… But he has a right to be scared. A lot of bots saw what I did that day; what I’d become…”

“That doesn’t give him an excuse,” she disagreed with a shake of her head. “It’s his job. He should act more professional.”

Venting heavily, the dark armor toned mech shook his helm. He reached out with his other servo, placing it very carefully upon her waist. The sullen look in his faceplate pulled terribly at her spark.

“I know you aren’t scared of me, Venus, but they are. They don’t understand it any better than I do. It’s unpredictable.”

“You’ve been fine for nearly a year now,” the femme pointed out. “With all the exams and remedies and medicine they hand out to you- ‘Cade, you’ve done nothing but beg for forgiveness since that day. You’ve been complacent to the way they treat you and you shouldn’t be. By the Thirteen, you’ve allowed the curious to play with you like a ragdoll for months so they can see what makes you tick.”

He only gave her an infuriating shrug in response. “If it solves the problem, or can make it easier on anyone else ever fed dark energon, I can live with it.���

Venus narrowed her optics slightly. Of all the things for the mech to say…

She shoved him away. His optics widened as she turned slightly away from him, huffing.

“I miss when you were more selfish,” she growled to herself.

Behind her, the femme could hear the shuffle of Barricade’s pedes as he moved in close again. One arm wrapped around her waist again; his servo resting over her chassis as he slid his helm against her shoulder, beside her face.

“What if I told you I was being selfish?” he breathed.

She snorted with disbelief in response.

“If they ever find a cure for this, my goddess, I know the very first thing I want to do...”

Emitting a sigh, Venus glanced to his faceplate. “And what’s that?”

Triumph blazed in ‘Cade’s twinkling surveying gaze. He leaned in to kiss her cheek swiftly as he beamed a brilliant grin.

“I’m going to make you mine.”

“I’m already yours, you possessive aft,” she laughed, unable to help herself.

“Nuuu-uh,” Barricade crowed in answer, his digits swirling over her chassis lightly.

She jerked an elbow back into his side, resulting in a soft ‘oof’.

“That’s not how you ask someone to be your sparkmate you dolt,” she chided gently, leaning over to kiss the side of his neck.

“Oh come on, I already asked you once before!”

“And I said no.”

“You said yes!”

“The third time you asked.”

“Yes- and it had been a romantic, extravagant, sentimental gesture-”

“The first time it had been,” the femme taunted, “Aren’t you supposed to be a charming womanizer mech? Charm me.”

Relenting, ‘Cade let out a disgruntled ‘hmph’. He nestled his face alongside Venus’ neck as he pulled her closer to himself. A bit taken aback, the femme glanced around. She made awkward optic contact with a few busy bees wandering around off to the right that managed to spot them. They hurriedly looked away and went about their work.

“‘Cade I was kidd-”

“You are a goddess in fact, gorgeous,” Barricade cut in softly. “However, no matter how beautiful and ethereal you may appear, I could have fallen in love with you without optics. It takes a fool not to see the beauty in every part of you.”

Heat thrummed in Venus’ quivering spark as Barricade released her. She stood, a bit dumbfounded for a moment, before he reached out to aid in turning her around. She knew she was gaping a bit at him, but couldn’t seem to stop herself from doing so.

Primus don’t let anyone ogle at them. She wasn’t fond of onlookers.

“You put so many of my needs first, and I appreciate that,” he said with strength and determination in his voice. “If it wasn’t for you, I don’t know if I’d ever have gotten free of Shockwave… I…”

Quirking a smile, she reached out to place a digit against his mouth.

“I love you too”

A softness entered Barricade’s already warm, affectionate purple regard. He kissed her digit lightly.

“You’ve no idea how much I do,” he indicated boldly. “And I’ll prove it.”

“You already do- I was kidding on the whole woeing thing,” she remarked, “Trust me, you’ve got that down pretty good.”

“Oh, do I?~”

“Don’t flatter yourself too much,” she giggled, bumping her hip against his gently.

A warm chuckle followed from Barricade. His optics mostly closed, digits tightening against her side. The small things. Small things like this, the way she could so easily find her place in the world and fall in love all over again. Fall in love with his smile, his caring, his endurance to his beliefs.

As his laughter died away, the mech wondered offhandedly aloud, “I do wonder, however, what has brought on the change in my...”

“Don’t question it; just be grateful,” Venus hurringly interjected. No need to jinx a good thing.

Watching the question still play out on the mech’s features, the stunning femme pulled free of her betrothed’s grasp. He watched her with a look of puzzlement as she indicated with a curl of her digit for him to come with her.

“Come on, darling. We should hurry along. Blackout did say he wanted to see you after that examination, remember?”

“Oh- drat, you’re right. I’ll just blame you,” he laughed. “Distracting me with your own charm.”

“Mmmhm,” Venus hummed, shaking her helm with a suspicious glance. “I’m sure Blackout will definitely believe that. And not that you were getting too handsy.”

“Well, not if you don’t tell him.”

Venus flashed him a kittenish grin as she winked.

“Don’t count on it.”

[trueheda]

                     1 YEAR ANNIVERSARY. ya’ll know me, i hate making things serious and sappy but i really did want to get around to writing something more for my one year on this babe because she means so much to me ( and so much more now that i’ve been writing her for a year ). ontari is such a wonderful and complex character, and it’s a shame given the show she was given she was only in there for one season it’s always an honor for me that ya’ll are willing to accomidate me into your lives, rp timelines, and plots ! i’ve honestly adored spending this last year with yall. with so much that’s happened irl in this past year it’s been such a blessing to have a steady place where i felt comfortable and identified to be able to hang out and write creativly, plus the bonus of enjoying my bbies ( that’s you lot ).  and i know i’ve done some pretty shitty shit in this past year. and this is deffiently also a thank you letter to everyone that’s stuck by my side despite everything i’ve done not to deserve it. so this is my personal way of saying THANK YOU for being here, for wanting to write with ontari, for wanting to write with me, thank you for those 2AM movie nights, for the 4AM rush replies because a thread was just addicting, thank you for bringing a smile to my face for introducing me to friends new and old and freinds i wouldnt have been able to make if not for this blog. thank you so much. ya’ll don’t understand how much this means to me. and i dont think you will. so here’s a small little thank you notice for those of you that care:

if you were to LIKE & REBLOG this post ( * yes both ) you’ll be entered to win the following provided to you by YOURS TRUELY examples including ( all my rp blogs legit just look at any of the rp blogs ): a THEME BG + CODE * only if u want a custom code by me ofc it’s up to you, a PROMO SET, a DASH ICON, a MOBILE HEADER and !! an AZGEDA EDIT of your character because how tf would you not want more azgeda around !! 

now that we’ve gotten that out of the way and i’ve given ya’ll a small thanks, i want to give you an even bigger thanks ! and wanted to give a big shout out to my fave babes whom have stuck by my side through a whole lot of shit that is hella undeserved ! but yet you’re still here ! despite it all and i owe you all the world so thank you. so much. 

@murhys - MOON !! love of my life. cas to my dean. actual other half. salt king husband to our salt kingdom. moon you’ve been there for me since day 1 and are probably the only person on this website i’ve never had a disagreement with. you wormed ur skaidad into my baby icekids heart which i thought would be impossible and it’s magic how much i enjoy ur presence really. you’re deff like my other half babe. ultimate husband. ily

@azgona / @braverstars - HANNAH !! b to my v. actual partner in crime when it comes to like anything ! legit we write anything and theres so much perfect chemsitry between the characters that i think we were meant to b babe. like legit anything we do its magic and you really need to have more faith in this community because we need u man. we need you. 

@kiingbuilt - LENEE ( STARS ) !! actual babe. positivity queen lenee. honestly ur so sweet and so perf and idk what you want me to say bc ur awesome in every way ? you put up with me who’s like the dark hole to ur sunshine but like i’m always so greatful i don’t think there could be a better person i’d want to play tari against than you, roan and her have such depth and it’s so wonderful to be able to talk at lengeth about our ice siblings and what could have been like ! ily so much thanks for legt taking care of us all better than what we deserve

@leyosgona / @saviorbuilt - SOCHIE !! my babe sochie waht to i say about you. well lets start with the fact i don’t think i’ve ever become trash for a ship quite as quickly as i became trash for catari like wtf man. i’m going to second that with sayig ur clarke is presh and i love her to death ? and top it all off with the fact hat you legit always put up with me spamming u wit random af things without ur permission and are a okay with it all the time which makes u way too cool. 

@humansympathies - CHARLES !! legit one of these days im sealing u away form ur wife just u wait ( * hamilton an american musical plays in the bg  )  honestly i still need to thank you for making me so goddamned comfortable with being okay to write something i had been so nervous to write before because of the context of th show. you are the reason i was able to come out of my bubble and im so fucking thankful for that sitll am going to add #actualjohnmurphy bc nothing u do can change that

@ginatcnic - LAUREN !! gg lauren ur always around to help me when i need it and i really think i dont deserve you as a friend you’re amazing and always there for me and put up with me ranting @ you about the randomest bullshit and being vauge af about it and whatnot. ilysm babe dont forget ever that you are one of the most important parts of this fandom and we’d be lost without you. 

@foxofthe100 / allofthe100 - BRITT !! things i never expected i would do: ship with britt. things i’m super thankful happened: shipping with britt. not that we needed it to be friends bc w were friends beforei. but i deff think that foxtari has brought us closer and i’m so glad that it did !! you’re such a fun and acomplished person, and your view on things are always so well balanced and lovely to hear ! being who i am i love understanding things and you always put things in prespective. just in time to drop an angst ball on me but yknow. 

@si02built / @rainkiing - CHUCK !! yo you. yes you. i love ya man. like i do love you so much i don’t think you understand how much you’re amazing. you’ve been there for me since day 1 and i know that it dosn’t matter if i havent spoken to you in a day or in a month we’ll jump back into things just as they’ve always been meant to be and i think there’s a sort of treasure in that tat can’t be sahken. i love you man. kisses. take care

@damnleader - NIKKI !! i dont know where to start with you man. i started off as ur biggest fan and now look at us. we’re trash and i love it and you legit need to get ur ass back onto this account so i can yell at you about how presh u are and how much i miss talking to you and ranting and bless. 

@youngcst​ - MOO !! moo. legit i never knew whether to call you that or lois but you know what it don’t matter much now does it. waht i will say however is how thankful i am that we were bros for such a long time, and how much it means to me what nova and tari built toether and their relationship like i sob over our babies so often you don’t even know ! please always keep bringing us babe characters. 

bonus shoutout - @ CONSQUAD because yall put up with my ass for 4 days and if anyone can do that i think they deserve like a gold medal or smth like pls yall are honestly some of the best people keep being you !! @banishhim ( black hole ) / @algaenotwar ( milky way ) / @stellarstolen

bonus bonus shoutout - @ icesquad because AZKRU BEST KRU - some of ya’ll are inactive and need to get ur asses back here just sayin’ @icymenace / @azhaihefa / @aznofi / @azkeyva / @azgedaechoes / @azgada / @aznontu / @komashdaun /  @azenblida / @dubiousloyalty / @challengedloyalty / @shudameika / @aiopgona / @zosimekomazgeda / @wintamnontu / @deathwants / @icebuilt / @icebitxh / @leyosgona / @kiingbuilt / @haihefaroun / @firraun / @rcyalscars / @acrownofice / @youngcst 

i also wanted to make a sort of like FOLLOW FOREVER ? like ? idk how you make a solid one of these but just like all the blogs ? i’m in awe of whenever they come on the dash seemed like a good idea ? like these are all so quality all the time eve if some are inactive i refuse to unfollow just because of the chance they’ll come back, they should be a shoutout bc they are my inspiration to write they make me a better writer every day ! and love the hell out of them: @wolfsouled / @rattledbybullets /  @ragnarsscn / @princeubbe / @belomi / @soldiiermade / @imqetuous / @everyturnanycost / @noximperator / @lionoffrance / @praycd / @redempticnarc / @bloodshedbound / @allvanquisher / @murdocksredemption / @damnmechanic / @leaderbuilt / @casuistic / @headstrongblake / @crimiinalchemiist / @noukru / @starxbcrn / @arroworn / @survivorbuiilt

[topheriskris]

I have no ideas right now.

I don’t know what to write about. I don’t know if I should start a mom blog and start monetizing it. I don’t know how I should go about restarting my career. I don’t know if I should continue trying to volunteer and build my portfolio (which by the way, another person flaked out on me last week!). Should I completely do a 180 and just own a jewelry line on etsy? I don’t know. 

Because of this, I’ve been consuming a lot. Both of the food and non-food variety. Before you start thinking that I’ve been eating couches the past few weeks, no. I’ve been watching a lot of movies, read some books, watching a LOT of tv. So... I’m going to tell you about it. SPOILERS ahead... probably. 

I finished season 2 of Legends of Tomorrow. First off, half of the original crew is still on board the ship which is kind of cool. I like having a rotating cast, but the because these super heroes are time travelers, they find insane ways why an old character returns. They acknowledge how crazy this is but doesn’t really stop doing it. 

I have a love/hate relationship for this show. I also am annoyed with the blossoming relationship between Nate and Amaya. Characters fall in love, then out of love, then other characters fall in love, then leave the show. Don’t get all Real World on me, please?  

I have no strong feelings for the season 7 finale of The Walking Dead. Well ok, I did but after finishing the episode, I was like, “Cool. What’s for lunch?”

I remember yelling at my TV while I folded Miles’ tiny socks and shirts, just begging them to not end on some bullshit cliffhanger. I need to know who is dead and alive right now. Fortunately, it wasn’t all grim and ended on a high note. It’s been such a relentless and long season but it paid off in the last episode. People’s roles have been established in the new communities and people are joining forces. It felt like everything was piecing together, and here we are at the end of our separate journeys ready to kick ass together... like a FAMILY.  

I knew Negan wasn’t going to die this season, so I went into this episode expecting a bang but not the end-all be-all conclusion of Negan. He’s too big of a character. This I understand. I actually really like Negan because he genuinely scares me. Occasionally I have to google the actor to make sure he is a nice guy and that him and the actress from White Collar are still happy together. It’s very similar to me constantly googling Mads Mikkelsen when I was watching Hannibal. 

I’ve avoided this series because I couldn’t handle seeing animals get hurt. However, my sister highly recommended these movies and practically started playing it before I could say no. After seeing baby Caesar latch onto James Franco, I was ALL IN. 

I loved these movies and was hoping nothing would harm this army of apes. Even when shit hit the fan while they were on the Golden Gate Bridge, I just prayed that they mowed down all of these cops and cop cars so they would be at peace and have more baby chimps in diapers. 

Perhaps it was also me just loving the idea of a simple life. The simple community they had, the respect and love they had for Caesar, the loyalty -- it was perfect and every time I saw the humans, it annoyed me. The humans felt so weak, so greedy, so indulgent, so of course, it was easy to root for the apes. 

And yes the social commentary of humanity and society and man and greed and blah blah blah. We get it. You get it. I know there is a bigger and deeper discussion about this, but if you’re looking for that, I’m surprised you made it this far in this post. 

I mean, why not? I’m pretty sure I haven’t seen all of the Resident Evils but this is the last one, so why not finish it. I’ve been in a real action movie kick, so I wanted to see Milla Jovovich open a can of whoop ass on the undead and Umbrella evil people. 

Unfortunately, that didn’t happen. There were a lot of fight scenes but I couldn’t see shit because it was heavily edited. Every time she was going to kick preacher dude in the face, the scene would cut and change angle or slightly shift. I don’t think I’m making sense but it was frustrating to watch. Also I was watching this slightly hungover but I doubt that’s the reason why this movie was hard to watch. I wasn’t expecting much because duh it’s a Resident Evil movie, but the expected crazy action sequences couldn’t have been enjoyed. Like what the actual fuck, people? This is Leeloo and she needs her damn swan song. Whoops, wrong movie. 

Sidenote: Alice’s hair is true hairspiration, even in all of its dirt and grime. 

I told you I was in an action film funk. I think it’s because I have little patience for dialogue and slow build up. I blame having a child and having very little time to myself. I need the action and I need it now... because Miles is going to wake up in 30 minutes. 

Tom Cruise, I will always love you. You’re just a classic. You’re the Converse of Hollywood and I love you because of that. With that said, this movie is meh but then again, most of Tom Cruise action movies are meh. I didn’t hate this and would totally watch again because:

1. I was fading in and out of the movie because I was picking out with Besame lipstick I wanted to buy online, so I’m not entirely sure what happened. I am certain that you jumped off a building and it did, indeed, hurt. 

2. Cobie Smulders is beautiful, lovely creature and when she’s not actively playing her role as Agent Maria in the Marvel Universe, this will have to do. (By the way, we will see more of Maria Hill, right? In Agents of SHIELD, perhaps?) 

3. You still foine even for a 54 year old. 

4. Happy it didn’t end with a sappy relationship/romp in the bed blah blah. 

I know that Denzel Washington is the real deal. I knew this but I didn’t know how I knew this... until I watched this movie. When I gush over Denzel (cause we are on blogging first name basis now), I can say, “Denzel WASHINGTON. In American Gangster?! Mmmhmmm That’s when I fell in love.” I know he has a long list of excellent movies, but for me, this is the movie that started my real adoration for him. 

He’s so powerful and frightening and charming in this movie. Respect just spills out of him and his character always has a purpose. No wasted words. No wasted smiles. 

Yeah, he totally blank face just set a man on fire and killed him in the first scene, but you can’t help but root for him. You see his life and the cards he’s been dealt and you justify every dirty deed he does. Frank is just trying to live, ya’ll! He just wants that white man money and he’s working for it! 

There were times I rewatched a scene because I couldn’t get enough of him. Everything he does is thoughtful and layered that I don’t want miss a single thing. This movie is one of my go-to movies, and I need to find more Denzel Washington movies to gush over now. 

[black-strike-otp]

part 45

♫♪ Deep in my heart, I hear you calling but I won’t let you in. I’m so afraid that I’ll keep on losing, but you’re whispering: “Trust in me. Love me. Open up your heart and let our love begin. Trust in me, and let me in.” ♫♪

Literally ya’ll just a couple of sappy dorks.

From the way Blackout had been looking at her lately, he knew something was off. For the most part Novastrike could swallow down unease and repugnance for what Neutroboost was doing but sometimes it crept on her. She had never been the best at keeping secrets, and this was one she never intended to walk in on.

It didn’t help that it ate away her appetite. Looking upon energon just brought her an unwanted awareness as to how wrong it was for her to keep quiet. The energon stains, the purged vomit on the floor.

She could tell someone. Telling Blackout would be easy, Scorponok wouldn’t be too bad, Guard might be a stretch as she would hate to see how upset it made him. That wasn’t the problem. The problem was that she didn’t know what would become of Neutro once it was all out.

He wasn’t the greatest mech on the vessel. He’d changed so much since Cybertron alone. But what if someone insisted on termination? What if they just tossed him off on the next planet? What sort of repercussions would the ship demand? Sure, Guard would stress kindness, but there was more than even his voice on the ship, no matter how proud and loud his voice of reason carried.

“Novastrike?” A voice rang out, extracting her from the labyrinth of her own thoughts.

“Hmm?” she managed in the back of her throat, turning to look at the medic.

“Dear one, you’re no help to anyone if you’re slacking off,” she worryingly stated. “Is something wrong? Are you tired? Hungry? Sick?”

“No,” she said with a slight smile. Her tanks gave a hunger churning in her chassis with disagreement. “I’m sorry, I was just daydreaming.”

Raising an optic ridge, the larger femme let out an intrigued hum. “Is that so? Anybot on your processor?”

Nova narrowed her optics slightly, eliciting a snicker from the femme.

“I’m sorry Nova,” the femme cackled. “I couldn’t help myself.”

Somebots were way too nosy for their own good, Novastrike thought to herself. There was always the scandalous few who teased about how she was always around Blackout, and visa versa. Why anyone made it their business to snoop or joke about it, she didn’t know. It miffed her constantly. Blackout favored discretion and neither of them openly spoke or confirmed anything, yet the occasional prod just kept coming.

If all the bots on the ship continued with their wisecracks and one-liners, what if it drove Blackout away from her again? They’d just made so much progress; they were finally trying the whole dating aspect. They were a couple. It was touch-and-go but it was somewhere.

Ignoring the optics of the medic, Novastrike placed her attention back on her datapad.

“Little one if you’re distracted, you’re free to go. We can continue the roster another time.”

“No thank you ma’am; if I loosen up now it’ll just mean days more work longer than I anticipated,” Nova admitted. “We’ve only just left the debris field behind two days ago and still only managed to register about half of the items brought in.”

Smiling softly, the medic stepped closer to Novastrike. She knelt down and reached out, carefully placing some of her digits along the little femme’s shoulder.

“Guard would want you to take a break. You’ve been doing this since day one, and you’ve done more than your fair share.”

Nova glanced up at the medic, venting. “I know,” she agreed. “I’ll just, finish this over here-” she swept a servo over her station, “-and be on my way.”

“You don’t sound excited for a little freedom,” she said with some concern. “Are you sure nothing’s bothering you? You can talk to me about it.”

“No, I’m fine,” Nova offered with a cheery smile.

The medic looked unconvinced. She never was one to be a good liar. Still, she offered a slight nod and turned back to the materials she was looking over and began taking notes on what she saw before her. It didn’t stop her thoughts from straying back to that awful memory though, no matter how much she tried.

~

With Scorponok laid out across his lap, Blackout took a brush against the minicon’s frame while he had him sitting still. Luckily they hadn’t been on any planets recently for the little bugger to get himself filthy inside and out, but unluckily he was especially moody being cooped up on the ship for so long and thrashed about in Blackout’s grasp.

“Would you hold still?” he snarled with annoyance. “Don’t give me a reason to EMP you.”

A hiss escaped the minicon as he flailed around. “Let go. Want down.”

“Not until I’m finished, now sit still.”

“Don’t want to. Armor fine. Let down.”

“Trust me Scorponok, you’ll be trilling by the time I’m done.”

Clearly, the bug didn’t agree with him. One of his pincers clipped against the space between Blackout’s servo and wrist and he flinched slightly, offering a scowl down at the scorpion as he continued to fidget.

Grunting, Blackout placed both of his servos on top of the scorpion lightly and waited patiently for him to settle back down. He leaned back, sighing as his optics moved up to look at the desk on the opposite end of the room. A small collection of Novastrike’s energon cubes sat there. Only one out of the stash had been touched; roughly half-gone, while the others were completely sealed still.

The bug attempted lunging forward as he picked up on Blackout’s distraction. Sadly for him, not distracted enough to keep hold of him.

“Down,” the bug whined pathetically.

“Just as soon as I’m done,” Blackout calmly replied.

Collapsing against Blackout’s legs, the scorpion finally relented. He gave an unpleasant chattering sound as he went down.

Giving a quiet hum of appreciation, Blackout slipped a servo beneath the bug’s belly and flipped him over onto his back. Scorponok was hardly pleased. His least favorite stance to be put in; leaving his softer under armor exposed.

As soon as Blackout went to scrap the brush along his belly, the bug twitched and began tapping his spindly legs against his arm. The bigger mech could only roll his optics at his dismal partner’s attempts to make him feel bad. All these years of cleaning up and maintaining the tiny slagger, and he still thought he hadn’t learned not to cave in to his demands? If he didn’t finish cleaning him now, he’d never get to. And with Scorponok being well, himself, the sooner you took care of scrubbing him, the better. Otherwise you were more liable to get damaged parts along the road.

Unhappy clicks came from the scorpion sporadically as he twitched his appendages. He showed just enough patience for his master to finish scrapping along his armor and carefully wipe around the junctions where armor plates met each other. His armor would move and flex out of place just enough to allow the bristles to lightly press between plating, making the bug twitch his limbs with despair.

The door to the room unlocked and Blackout looked up from his companion. Scorponok was swift to take advantage, rolling over and onto the floor as Blackout dove to try grabbing him.

Too late.

Just as Novastrike came wandering in she jumped to the side, narrowly missing being bowled over by Scorponok.

She turned to Blackout, her optics wide.

He could only shrug, showing her the brush.

“Cleaning time?” she asked, offering a weary smile.

“You know how he hates it,” he complained.

Nova gave a brief bob of her helm with understanding as she stepped in. The door closed behind her noiselessly but she was not so quiet herself. In fact, her pedes seemed to loiter as she walked.

Blackout drew his optic ridges down. “Everything alright?”

“Yeah, fine,” she offered, still meeting his gaze with an affectionate smile.

Shifting his optics towards the stacks of cubes, Blackout turned his optics back towards her slowly. “Maybe you need some energon.”

She looked slightly distracted. “Probably wouldn’t hurt,” she agreed.

Getting up off the berth, Blackout stepped over to grab the unfinished cube of energon on the counter. As he returned to the berth and bent over slightly, offering a servo for Novastrike to climb up on. She did so with a faint smile in his direction.

Returning to the berth, Blackout took a seat and allowed his femme confidante to hop off. He offered out her energon cube to her, which she accepted with a smile. It didn’t reach up to her eyes however; they appeared somewhat troubled.

While she went to take a sip, Blackout gave a quiet and encouraging hum. His armor vibrated lightly from the echoes in his chassis. With a slight force of will, his holoform began to materialize beside the small femme’s side.

She glanced at him and sputtered on her energon comically.

“Don’t do that,” she growled.

“Do what?” Blackout asked with amusement.

“Go startling helpless femmes with your suave good looks. I swear, just- emerging beside someone so close- ‘hello, look I me, I am a dapper, smooth mech with an inviting smile, won’t you please look at me’?”

“I don’t come off like that,” Blackout scoffed.

“Might as well,” Novastrike challenged.

Flicking his servo to her energon cube, Blackout made a rumble in the back of his throat. “You should finish it.”

Her face immediately went from miffed to suspicious. “Why? Did you put something in it?”

Blinking his optics slowly, the mini-version of the giant mech gave a shake of his helm. “No. Why would you think that?”

“No reason, just sounds like someone trying to pull a prank would say.”

“Or something a concerned friend would say.”

Novastrike’s optics slipped away from his as she tilted back her energon to drink it. She drained it like she was starving, but the look in her face was written in nausea.

As she lowered the cube, Blackout took a step closer and removed the empty block from her digits. Dropping it on the ground, he raised an optic ridge at her slowly, examining her faceplate.

“Are you feeling ill at all? You’ve been acting like the energon’s sour lately when you drink and I know very well it’s not; I’ve drank from the same batches as you.”

“No, it tastes fine.”

Why was she avoiding the question?

“Is it... is there something going on with us that’s making you feel unwell?”

“Oooh, Blackout nooo,” Nova promptly fussed. She stepped closer into his space, placing her arms around his waist as she leaned into him.

A piece of himself he didn’t even realize had tensed up suddenly and rapidly relaxed. Unable to suppress his relief, Blackout enveloped his arms around Novastrike’s dainty little form and pressed her closer into his chassis. Warmth was spilling out of his holoform slowly; a comfort he knew she appreciated all too well.

“Tell me what’s been bothering you then,” he whispered quietly.”

Nova nibbled on the corner of her mouth. “Did you ever, I don’t know, see something you wish you didn’t and wished you could just forget it?”

Light danced in Blackout’s maroon optics with amusement. “I think we’ve all seen a thing or two we wish would could scrub from our processors.”

“It’s just that,” she stated simply, a troubled light on her face. “It made me... see someone a bit differently.”

“Are you sure it’s nothing to do with us?”

“Absolutely! It’s nothing to do with you, or us, it’s... someone else. I just see them in a different light now.”

Calmly removing his servos from around Nova’s waist, Blackout reached up to cradle either side of her face. She leaned into his touch with a soft exhale of reassurance. The light escaping her optics softened gradually; the hues of blue melting more into one another as she pressed into his chassis for comfort.

A weak smile ghosted across her face. Blackout could feel his spark pick up; beating faster and harder. The pulses left a feeling like it was trying to ram out of his chassis. It wasn’t an experience he was used to, but one that wasn’t totally unacceptable.

Dropping one of her arms from around him, the small femme reached up and placed a servo on top of one of his. Her digits nestled on top of his own; curling over lightly. He went to shift his digits just enough for her own to press just lightly between his.

“Tell me what ails you, I’ll fix it, I swear.”

His voice must have been far more compelling than he’d bargained for. She looked captured in a spell. Staring at him with absolute adoration and endearment, her ears beginning to emit a blazing radiant light.

“You are just too sweet,” Novastrike whispered. “But for the time being, I think I’ll just let it go.”

“Too powerful of a secret, even for me, hmm?” Blackout asked softly. He turned his servo over slowly to hold Novastrike’s, drawing it over the small distance between them to draw a phantom’s kiss against the back of her servo.

She fidgeted slightly in place. Whether because she was distracted by the simple gesture or made uncomfortable by his words, he couldn’t determine.

“Not exactly,” she quietly insisted. “I’m just hoping I’m seeing too much into something and I want to... give that individual a chance to make the right choices.”

“Maybe you should talk to the bot you saw doing whatever it is that’s bothering you, and let them know how you feel?” Blackout advised, bending his servo away from Nova’s just enough to press another delicate kiss against her wrist.

A gentle, feverish heat was migrating off of the little femme’s armor now. Her ears were lit like a star, giving off a brilliant illuminating glow now.

“Maybe I’ll do that,” she vaguely agreed.

“Good,” Blackout rumbled. “Anything that helps you feel better-”

Taken by surprise, Blackout rapidly shuttered his optics as she stood at the tip of her pedes to steal a kiss.

Well, might as well not leave her waiting, he deduced; thoroughly tickled as his optics winked offline and he returned the kiss. Always so full of surprises.